Sunday 20 March 2011

Redshank

Redshank

Latin name
Tringa totanus

Family
Sandpipers and allies (Scolopacidae)

Description:
The redshank is a medium-sized wading bird. It has longish red legs and a long, straight bill. It is grey-brown above and whitish below. In flight, it shows very obvious white rear edges to the wings and a white 'V-shape' up its back. The greatest concentrations of breeding birds are in parts of Scotland and north-west England. In winter, as many as half of the birds in Britain may be from Iceland. The numbers breeding on farmland are declining, due to drainage of farmland. Overgrazing of coastal marshes is also removing breeding habitat and breeding birds are increasingly dependent on nature reserves.

Where to see them:
The redshank is an abundant and widespread wading bird on coasts - look for it at RSPB coastal reserves. Inland, you can look for it at reserves where there is wet grassland for it breed and feed on, especially in the northern half of the UK.

When to see them
All year round

What they eat
Insects, earthworms, molluscs, crustaceans

The following Redshank was seen at the North Wall, Pagham Harbour West Sussex in November 2010. Due to the weather and the lack of sunshine I wasn't able to get the 'catch-light' that I like to have in teh bird's eye. Tha aside I hope that you might like the photos.










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